Tapered connections are commonly used for connecting machine parts, such as for connecting a gear to a shaft for example. The gear is forced onto the shaft and it is often difficult to separate the gear and shaft once they are assembled. A recent attempt to separate the tapered members is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,010 which issued to Leroy F. Jungbluth and James B. Black on Aug. 5, 1975.
Jungbluth and Black used a plurality of bolts threadably connected to the shaft. Only one of the plurality of bolts is connected to the annulus existing between the members. By removing the one bolt and injecting hydraulic oil or grease, they were able to reinsert the bolt thereby pressurizing the fluid to force the members to separate. Teflon tape was wrapped around the bolt threads to prevent the escape of air or fluid during the tightening of the bolt.
While the use of Teflon tape is acceptable in some applications, the fluid pressure developed therewith is limited and not suitable for all applications. For some tapered connections, fluid pressures in excess of 44,096 kPa are required to separate the members. With Teflon tape, it is difficult to turn the pressurizing bolt fast enough to overcome air or fluid leakage past the Teflon tape to build fluid pressure up to 44,096 kPa. This method entraps both air and fluid. Since air is compressible, the pressure is limited. It is desirable to have an apparatus which purges compressible air and develops pressures in excess of 44,096 kPa for separating the members of a tapered joint.